Mailing piece



Julie 7, 1955 s, RoBlNs 2,710,095

MAILING PIECE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 20, 1950 @Wl/agg.

Jun 7, 1955 S. ROBINS MAILING PIECE `2 sheets-,sheet 2.

Filed April 20. 1950 www@ United tates atent O MAILING PIECE Seymour Robins, New York, N. Y.

Appnmtion April ze, 1950, serial No. 157,134

2 Claims. (Cl. 20646) This invention relates to greeting cards and the like, and has particular application to Christmas greetings. lt is the primary aim of the invention to provide a novel type of mailing piece which serves a dual function; that is, it may be used much in the manner of a conventional Christmas card, yet is also suited for use as a Christmas tree ornament. So far as known, the art is devoid of any suggestion that any single device could be so designed that it would serve both of these purposes. No doubt this is because of the fact that, according to prior teachings, the requirements for a satisfactory tree ornament are entirely different from those of a suitable greeting card, with the result that any device suited for one purpose would necessarily be unsuitable for the other. This is, of course, because of the fact that a tree ornament should be of some ornamental three-dimensional shape, while a Christmas greeting card should be capable of lying perfectly fiat in an ordinary envelope and be able to withstand the rough handling to which Christmas mail is subjected.

It is, therefore, the primay object of the present invention to reconcile these conflicting requirements and to provide, as an article of manufacture, a mailing piece including a simple paper envelope and an enclosure therein which lies flat for mailing, yet which is so designed that it will expand into a three-dimensional ornamental shape when it is removed from the envelope and suspended,

A further object of the invention is to provide an article of manufacture of the type described above, wherein the three-dimensional shape is so designed and constructed that it will automatically open and expand, as by force of gravity, when it is removed from the mailing envelope and suspended.

A still further object of the invention is to provide such an article of manufacture wherein the ornament is provided with a hanger, preferably in the form of a flexible cord and wire hook, so that it may be easily suspended in position, and further, to provide an envelope having a support to hold this hanger in predetermined position during mailing, so that the hanger will be held at a point of convenient accessibility, where it may be easily grasped when the mailing envelope is opened.

A still further object of the invention is to provide, in the mailing envelope for a device of the type described above, a hanger support positioned and arranged to secure the hanger of the ornament at a point remote from the location of the postage stamp and postmark, so that envelopes enclosing the ornaments may be passed through automatic stamp canceling machinery without danger of damage resulting from the action of the feeding or printing rollers of the canceling machines on the wire hooks of the hangers.

In accomplishing the foregoing objects, the applicant has provided a novel mailing piece which includes an expansible three-dimensional ornament and hanger therefor, the ornament being so designed that it can be folded Hat for mailing and will expand to three-dimensional shape when lifted from the envelope by its hanger. In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated herein, the

ICC

ornament comprises a plurality of thin, flat, circular cards of progressively different sizes, interlocked with coacting notches so that the entire unit is capable of lying perfectly at in the envelope, but will swing to a threedimensional shape when withdrawn therefrom. This expansible ornament is provided with an envelope of proper size and shape to enclose it in its flattened condition, and has its flexible hanger supported on a hanger support within the envelope and under the closure flap thereof, so that when the envelope is opened, the recipient may lift the entire ornament out of the envelope by the hanger and thus allow it to assume its threedirnensional shape.

In the drawings of the present disclosure:

Figure l is a front elevational view of a mailing piece in accordance with the present teachings, showing the exterior of the envelope with the address, stamp and postmark in conventional position thereon and illustrating in dotted lines the greeting card and ornament assembly enclosed therein;

Figure 2 is a rear elevational View of the mailing piece shown in Figure l;

Figure 3 is an enlarged rear elevational view, partly in section, showing the mailing piece as it appears with the closure flap lifted;

Figure 4 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which the expansible greeting card ornament may be lifted from the mouth of the envelope by its hanger; and

Figure 5 is a perspective View of a modified form of envelope, showing a somewhat different arrangement of hanger support.

The mailing piece illustrated in Figuresl to 3, inclusive, includes a rectangular envelope generally designated as 10 which, as illustrated, has a front panel 11 having reverse folds l2 and 13 at the opposite sides terminating in overlapping back flaps 14 and l5 which are adhesively secured together at 16. As shown, the lower edge of the envelope comprises a reverse fold 17 terminating in a bottom Hap i8 which is' adhesively secured to the flaps 14 and 15. As shown in Figure 3, the aps 14 and 1S are cut back at 21 to facilitate access to the mouth, or open side of the envelope, and the envelope is provided with a closure flap 22 hinged to the front panel along the fold line 23, and provided with an adhesive 24 for sealing.

The expansible ornament within the envelope consists of four flat, circular cards 26, 27, 23 and 29 (Figure 4). lt is contemplated that one or more of the cards may be inscribed with appropriate legends, verses or greetings, conveying thoughts of the holiday season from the sender to the recipient. The card 26 is a relatively small circular dise having diametrically opposed notches 31 which are in interlocking engagement with coacting notches 32 extending outwardly from the open center portion 33 kof the card 27. The cards 27, 23 and 29 are all of generally ring-like configuration, and are interlocked to each other by notches 34-35 and 36-37. The card 29 is provided with a tab 38 to which a fiexible thread or cord 39 is attached. The cord may be attached in any convenient manner, as by tying it through the punched opening 40 and, as shown, the cord extends to an eye 41 on the wire hook 42. In the form of the invention illustrated, this hook has a relatively long shank portion 43, a somewhat shorter end portion 44, and a reverse bend 45 which extends from the end portion back alongside the shank portion 43.

The hook is carried by a hanger support which (in the Figure 3 illustration) comprises a small paper tab having an enlarged head 47. The tab is formed by notching the upper edge of the back ap 14 of the envelope. It is to be noted, however, that the hook 42 is shaped so that it locks itself in position on the enlarged head of the tab, but can be easily inserted thereon without distorting the tab by slipping the relatively long shank 

